Lamp-focusing device



May 15, 1928.

C. E. GODLEY LAMP EOCUSING DEVICE Filed Sept. 16. 1926 Patented May 15, 1928.

UNI-TED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES: E. G'ODLEY, or Yrsnnmrn.

MICHIGAN, Assmnon, BY, nnsma. ASSIGN- MENTS,- TO. C, M; HALL LAMP GOMPANY,, A. CORPORATION OE MICHIGAN.

LAmr-rocusrne nnvlcn.

Application filed se temrerrs, 1m. serial no. 1353973 My invention relates to focusing devices of the general class employedonautomo-p bi 1e" headlights for adjusting the lamp socket longitudinally and for moving the socket in 5 a vertical plane soas the lamp" bulb filament with respect to the axis'of the reflector-of the lamp.

Generally speaking, my invent-ion. aims to provide a lamp focusing arrangement in which the lamp socketextends slidablythrough a perforation andis adapted to rockupon the wall of the perforation, and in" which. the rocking of the socket is effected through cam means; aims toprovide two-- independent adjusting means arranged so" that an equal adju'stment of both in thesame direction will efiect' onlya longitudinal' sliding of the socket, while an adjust ment of only one of these means 'Qona difl er' ential adjustment of both of thesemeans) Will'rock the socket about the perforation wall, and aims topi'ovide a connecting ele-; ment associated with one of these means and arranged so as tabs-substantially rigid longi- Z5 tudinally of the socket while permitting-a rocking of the'socke't;

Further and more detailed objects willappear from the following specificationand" from the accompanying drawings, in which 30 Fig; 1 is a fragmentary central, vertical and: longitudinalsection through anauto mobile headlight equipped with: an embodiment of my invention in which the longitudinal adjusting movement is transmitted 5 to the socket through an approximately straight resilient strip, showing the parts toadj ust the height of Fig; 5' is a: perspective view of the bracketsecured tothe'- rear end of the socketof Fig, 1, which bracket has'itsrear-wardly directed arnrelongatedinthe embodiment of Fig; 2.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the rear end portion of the shell of the socket before the bracket of Fig.5 is secured to it. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of the centralportion ot' the reflector. I

Inthe drawings, Fig. 1'- shows lamp parts including 'a portion of a reflector 1 spaced o forwardly from'the back 2 of the lampcasing. 'lhereflector has-at or'near its centera perforation 3- slightly: larger in diameter than the diameter of the-shell 4' of: the socket which hOlClS-tlIB'HSHa l lamp bulb 5, and the o5 perforation has ateach side-a lateral: extension 3 for slidably housing-one arm 6 -ofa yoke, w-hicliyoke forms-the cam member of my focusing device.- The two yoke arm's have alined cam slots 7 which: are inclined:

with respect to the parallel upper and lower edges of the-yoke'arms, and the socket shell has 'a pair 0% diametrically opposite hubs-8 t'ormed on. it; Each of these nubs-pro'ects into one of the canrslotsand correspon sin diameter tethe width of that slot, so that the hubs are slidahle in the slotsand also fulcrum thesocket on the yoke=. In assem bling the parts,the= arms oi' the yoke are first spru-ng apart to permit the entry' of thenubs 30 into the canr slots,- after which the socketandi the yoke arms are slid through the perform tion the reflectonso; that thewalls' of the lateral recesses- 011' perforation extensions 39' not only support the yoke slidablly but. also 35 ho1d theyokearms interlocked with thesaidnubs.

To slide the yoke longitudinally, I: provide a screw 9 which extends through the back. oh the casing and which is v threaded through. a 0 suitable part off the yoke', such asxthe doubled. luglO of F ig-. 4'. 'llhenil also" providea sec;- ond screw 11 extending through the backof the casing and I: connect this to. the. socket. .shell 4 by connecting elements whichinclude a flat striplQ of resilient metal; In Fig.1, I am showing az bracket having aahorizonta'l arm 13' riveted: to= the forward en'di 0t this resilient strip; and havin' a vertical arm: 14 secured to the neareq 4 of the socket.

' fhis socket end here has a tubular and noncircular extension 4* (through which the usual wires enter the socket shell), which extension is slid through a correspondingly shaped perforation 15 in the bracket arm let I (see Fig. 5) and is then flared out to clinch the said bracket arm to the socket shell.

The rear end of the resilient strip 12 is rivetedto a horizontal arm 16 of a nut 17 which is threadedupon .the second screw 11, and this arm 16 preferably extends in approximate alinement with the bracket arm 13. A compression spring 18 is interposed between the nut 17 and the back 2 of the casing so as to press the nut (and hence the screw 11) forwardly, thereby taking up any lost motion. in the nut and alsoholding the head of the screw 11 against the rear face of the casing. Hence the spring 18 effectively causes the screw 11 to 'be swiveled to the casingand also holds the screw with its axis extending at right angles to the adjacent part of the casing back 2. Since-the screw 11- is thus held in a fixed position and while the perforation extensions 3" prevent the.

socket shell fron'r rotating,-and since the bracket at the rear of the socket is fastened to. the shell, the agle-sectioned nut and the;

resilient stripcooperate in holding this strip substantially in a fixcd plane andthe strip also prevents the-nut'17 from rotating on the screw 11.1 Hence no auxiliaryparts are re-' quired for retain ng the several elements of my focusing device in operative relation to each other. v

With the parts thus assembled, a purely longitudinal adjusting movement of the socket (and hence of the lamp-bulb) is readily obtained by rotating each of the screws 9 and 11 in the same directionand' to the same extent, as for. example by turning each screw a quarter turn to the right or to the left. (Both screws preferably. have the same a pitch so as'to insure this, equality of longitudinal movement for the yoke which is moved by the lower screw- 9 and for the socketshell which is connected to the upper screw 11.) Hencethe needed adjustment of v the filament longitudinally of the reflector can easily be made even by an inexperienced user.

Then the re'quiredvertical adjustment can be:made by rotating only the lower screw 1. 9, thereby sliding the yoke with respect to the socket so thatthe engagement of the cam slot with the nubs on the socket will rock the socket on the wall of the perforation 3 so as to raise or lower the lamp filament according to the direction in which the yoke is slid. For example, with the desired position of the lower lamp filament longitudinally of the reflector secured as in Fig. 1, a forward sliding of'the yoke by merely I rotating the (right-hand threaded) lower screw 9 in a counter-clockwise direction will raise the lamp filaments to-a position such as that of Fig. 2.

During these adjusting movements, the resilient strip '12 affords a substantially rigid connection between the screw-actuated nut 17 and the bracket on the socket shell, but this'strip will bend to allow for the rocking of the socket. v r

Besides being cheaply and easily manu factured, my here presented focusing'device also is advantageous in its assembling, since all of its parts (except the guiding portion of the reflector) can' be assembled initially on the casing, after which the reflector is slid into position over; the socket and [the arms of the cam member which I have here shown as a yoke. Likewise, the removal and replacing of the reflector is unhampered, as no auxiliary parts are fastened to it. On short focus reflectors I desirably form the part adjacent to the perforation into a rearwardly extending tube 20 so as to dispose the perforated part behind the main surface of the, reflector, thereby accommodating a lamp socket ofrthe usual length.

However, 1 do not wish to be limited to this, I

nor tothe use of a cam member in the form of a yoke, nor to other details of. the

substantially straight, I may elongate one of these arms. and'dispose thearms out of alinement with each other lhus, Fig. 1 2 shows an embodiment inwhich, the arm 13 of the bracket on the socket extends above the arm '16 of the nut; and in which these Y arms are connected by an S-shaped spring 21ofsuch a thickness of metal as tobe substantially unyielding longitudinally of the said arms. I i c Fig. 2 also shows a spring washer '23 interposed between the back 2 of the lamp casing and a'pin 24 extending transversely through the upper screw 11, so that the saidv pin and washer preventthe screw 11 r from sliding rearwardly while the engagement of the head of the screw with the said back of the casing prevents a forward sliding of this screw. Hence the screw 11 is effectively. swiveled upon the casing backthrough whichitextends, just'as the same l screw in Fig. 1 has a similar efi'ective swiv ellng connection through the 21012101101 the splral compresslonsprmg 18. 1

I clalm as my. invention:

1. ln a lamp, a reflector having a perfos ration, a casing hav ng its back spaced rearwardly from the reflector; a cam member and a socke-t both extending slidably through the perforation, the socket being adapted to rock ina'vertical planeupon the" wall'of the perforation; cam means operatively interposed between the socket and cam member for causing a relative sliding thereof to rock the socket with respect to the carrier; adjustable means connecting the cammember with the back of the casing for sliding the socket with respect to the reflector, the last named means including a silient member permitting a rocking of the socket upon the wall of the perforation, the resilient member being so formed and arranged to make the last named means substantially rigid longitudinally of the axis of the reflector; and independent adjustable means for sliding the cam member with respect to the reflector. I

I 2. In a lamp, a reflector having a perforation, a casing having its back spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a lamp socket extending slidably through a portlon of the perforation and adapted to rock in a vertical plane on the walls of the said portion of the perforation; a cam member having a pair of arms extending slidably through other parts of the perforation at opposite sides of the socket, the said arms having alined cam slots disposed behind the said perforation, and the socket having trunnions housed respectively by the said slots and slidable in the slots; means connecting the back of the casing with the cam member for sliding the cam member with respect to the reflector; and means connecting the back of the casing with the socket for sliding the socket with respect to the reflector, thelast name-d means being substantially rigid longitudinally of the reflector but including a resilient member arranged to permit a rocking of the socket about the walls of the first named perforation portion.

In a lamp, a reflector having a perforation, a casing having its back spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a'lamp socket extending slidably through the portion of the perforation and adapted to rock in a vertical plane on the walls of the said portion of the perforation; a cam member having a pair of arms extending slidably through other parts of the perforation at opposite sides of the socket, the said arms having alined cam slots disposed behind the said p rforation, and the socket having trunnions housed respectively by the said slots and slidable in the slots; an adjusting screw extending through the back of the casing and threadedly connected to the cam member for sliding the cam member with respect to the reflector, the mounting of the screw on the casing back cooperating with the engagement of the said other perforation parts by the cam member to prevent a rocking of the cam member upon the reflector; a

ration provided with a pair throughnthe back of the casing, and. a re si lien't connection between the second screw and the socket, the resilient connection being substantially rigid longitudinally of the second screw so that a rotation of that screw, slides the-socket with respect to the reflector; the resiliency of the said connection permitting the socket to rock on the reflector upon a relative sliding movement of the socket with respect to the cam member.

4. In a lamp, a reflector havinga perfoof laterally opposite enlargements, a casing having its back spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a socket extending slidably through the perforation and adapted to rock in a vertical plane upon the parts of the perforation between the said enlargements, the socket having a pair of laterally projecting trunnions respectively behind the two enlargements; a

cam member having a pair of arms extending at-opposite sides of the socket respectively through the said enlargements, each arm having a cam slot slidably housing one of the said trunnions; an adjusting screw extending forwardly through the back of the casing and threaded through a part of the cam member for sliding the cam member longitudinally'of the reflector; another screw extending forwardly through the back of the casing, and a connection fast upon the socket and threaded upon the last named screw whereby the last named screw slides the socket longitudinally of the reflector and of the cam member; the said connection being substantially rigid longitudinally of the first named screw but including an element arranged to permit a tilting of the axis of the socket with respect to the axis of the first named screw by adjustment of the last named screw, so as to allow a relative sliding of the socket and carrier to rock the socket on the reflector through the action of the cam slots on the said trunnions.

5. In a lamp, :1 reflector having a perforation, a casing having its back spaced rearwardly from the reflector, a cam member extending slidably through the perforation in the reflector, an adjusting member extending through the back of the casing and co-v operatingwith the wall of the said perforation to support the cam member continuously on axial alinement with the reflector, the adjusting member being operable from outside the casing to slide the cam member I with respect to the reflector, a lamp socket supported jointly by the wall of the said perforation and by the cam member, the lamp socket beingadapted to rock in a ver tical plane with respect to the socket and the said perforation being formed to prevent rocking of the cam member in a vertical plane with respect to the reflector; a second ad usting member connecting the back of the casing with the ,socket and operable 6. A lamp construction as per cleiinb, in "10 4 independently of the aforesaid adjusting}whichthe adjusting means connectingthe memberfor sliding the socket With respect "back ofthe casing Withthe socket include a 1 to the reflector; the socket and the cam memresilient strip formed for normally holdlng 5 her having interengaging"formations open: the socket coaxial with the reflector-it ating With a cam action, for causing a rela- Signed at Detroit, Miohig an, September Y tive sliding'oi the socket and the cam mem v 2, 1926. her to rock the socket on the Wall of the 7 said perforation. v .c v ",OHARLESE.GODLEY Q 

